Mammography technician
Currently, healthcare reform is a hot political topic in the United States. While opinions vary widely, both sides of the debate are in favor of reducing healthcare costs without sacrificing quality. Mammography is currently the most widely-used method for the early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer. In October 2009, researchers at Maastricht University Medical Center, The Netherlands, released a study, which evaluated the costs and effects of using specialized breast technologists in pre-reading mammograms. The use of technologists would reduce the workload of radiologists; however, concerns regarding quality of care needed to be addressed. Two specialized technologists interpreted 1,389 consecutive mammograms. Four different experimental strategies for pre-reading mammograms by technologists were compared with the standard evaluation by radiologists. The researchers reported that the use of technologists resulted in a potential time saving of up to 73% for the radiologist; thus, the radiologists would have more time for other duties. Compared to the conventional strategy, no additional false-negative imaging results were found. (A false-negative result is one in which an abnormality is present on the X-ray film but is missed by the reader). Overall, the four experimental strategies resulted in cost savings up to 17.2% (range: 122,494 euro to 139,781 euro). The researchers concluded that the employment of technologists in pre-reading mammograms could significantly reduce the workload of radiologists without compromising the detection rate of malignancies. In addition, diagnostic costs could be considerably reduced.
A mammogram involves compressing the breast against a mammography machine to even out the tissue, improve image quality, and to prevent motion while the X-ray is taken. If an abnormality is noted on the mammogram, an ultrasound is often done to provide further information. Positron emission mammography (PEM) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are also used. Many experts feel that a mammogram reading by a trained specialist (physician or technician) has a false-negative rate of about 10%.
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